Mar 2009 - Sept 2009

During reproductive health and HIV field missions to MENA and West African countries, UNHCR health staff advocated with stakeholders for the strengthening of sexual and gender-based violence prevention and response and for the integration of reproductive health, including sexual and gender-based violence, into community-based outreach activities and awareness-raising campaigns.In Liberia, UNHCR and its partners supported the establishment of a new community health department and organized community health committees and volunteers.

UNFPA participated in the March 2009 Rio Global Symposium on Engaging Men and Boys in Achieving Gender Equality; developed a toolkit on Engaging Men and Boys in Gender Equality and sexual and reproductive health (with Instituto Promundo); developed case studies of Engaging Men and Boys in Gender, Sexuality and reproductive health in Asia and Africa (with ICOMP); and, documented good practices on Engaging Men and Boys in Gender Equality and HIV and AIDS.

On International Women’s Day, UNRWA Lebanon Field Office organized, in collaboration with a Lebanese NGO “KAFA”, awareness-raising sessions on “Women and men united to end violence against women and girls”. UNRWA’s Women Program Centers organized sessions on the use of the CEDAW Convention and Human Rights tools in advocacy.

In September 2009, UNHCR conducted workshops to promote the engagement of men and boys in the prevention of SGBV in the East and Horn of Africa. The participants of the workshop developed country level action plans for 2010 and contributed to a collection of good practices.In September 2009, UNHCR undertook a pilot training in Uganda on the e-learning Guide on Safe Schools and Learning Environment to build the capacity of UNHCR staff and partners to prevent and respond to violence, including SGBV, in and around schools.

UNIFEM, now part of UN Women, continued to provide technical and other support in the context of joint United Nations efforts in the Asia-Pacific region, engaging men and boys to prevent violence against women.

The UNRWA-supported Community Mental Health program in West Bank and Gaza continued psycho-educational workshops and lectures in all camps addressing topics such as sex education, equality between both sexes in the family, violence against women and children. The workshops targeted both women and men (whenever possible). In West Bank there is an ongoing program with 2 groups of male abusers.

UNHCR, in a joint endeavor with UNODC and IOM and in close co-operation with the Serbian Government, has developed a comprehensive and multi-year anti-human trafficking project in Serbia.Four community-based films have been produced which encapsulate key issues addressed in the UNHCR’s Handbook for the Protection of Women and Girls.

In Egypt, UNV is working with the UN system and the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood (NCCM) to delineate the role of volunteerism in the FGM-Free Village initiative. National UNV volunteers are involved as youth leaders at the village level to raise awareness about the health related consequences of female genital mutilation (FGM), and to advocate against the social pressure on young girls and women.

UNIFEM, now part of UN Women, supported public events and information dissemination on ending violence against women through various mediums, including: International Women’s Day in India, Nigeria and Viet Nam; youth conferences on sexual harassment in Egypt and on support to sexual and gender-based violence survivors in Tanzania; a Zimbabwe television series to highlight trafficking issues; a documentary on good practices in ancestral justice for indigenous women in Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador; and a youth rock concert in Colombia.

A number of stories on violence against women, such as violence against albinos in Tanzania and violence against female domestic workers in Brazil, were posted during the Durban Review Conference, held in April in Geneva, on both the OHCHR and the Conference sites. Another story focused on the side event “Double Odds: Women Overcoming Multiple Discrimination” including a presentation by the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences.